Interviews/Spotlights
Facets of Defence Acquisition
By: Prof (Dr) SN Misra | Issue: Vol 27.3 Jul-Sep 2012 | Date: 11 Nov , 2012
From time to time, the Defence Procurement Procedure has tried to bring in level playing field to the private players. DPP-2011 has been significant as it has brought in some of the ship-building...
Developing Leadership in Arms
By: Cdr Douglas C Deans | Issue: Vol. 27.1 -Mar 2012 | Date: 08 Nov , 2012
Every nation aspiring to be a leader must go through the following four logical steps: Level 1… nations have just the ability to maintain and operate the weapons which are usually bought…; Level...
Defending Indian Skies against the Chinese Air Force
By: Air Commodore Ramesh Phadke | Issue: Vol. 27.1 -Mar 2012 | Date: 08 Nov , 2012
As a rising power that detests competition, China might continue to test India’s resolve and patience through pinpricks on the border issue while progressively enhancing the level of...
Peace and Stability in Afghanistan
By: Lt Gen Ravi Sawhney | Issue: Courtesy: Aakrosh | Date: 06 Nov , 2012
A negotiated political settlement with the Taliban would be a desirable prerequisite to ending the prevailing conflict in Afghanistan, but current talks with the Taliban are unlikely to result in...
1971: The blitzkrieg in East Pakistan - I
By: Maj Gen Sukhwant Singh | Issue: Book Excerpt: India's War since Independence | Date: 04 Nov , 2012
When Tikka Khan landed in the political turmoil of East Pakistan on 7 March 1971 as governor-designate of the province, he combined in himself the office of Martial Law Administrator (MLA) and...
Force command and control – a ‘technological devolution’
By: Gilles Ebbutt | Issue: EDR Vol. March/April 2012 | Date: 31 Oct , 2012
Command and control (C2) of military forces differs according to the environment in which they operate – ground, maritime or air – but in all cases it is fundamentally about the coordination and...
The IAF: Combining Numbers and Quality
By: David Saw | Issue: EDR Vol. March/April 2012 | Date: 28 Oct , 2012
The Indian Air Force (IAF) was established on 8th October 1932, a state of affairs that came about due to the passage of the ‘Indian Air Force Act’ by the then British colonial administration....
India's Foreign Policies under Indira Gandhi
By: Harish Kapur | Issue: Book Excerpt: Foreign Policies of India's Prime Ministers | Date: 28 Oct , 2012
Indira Gandhi was much more equipped in foreign affairs than Lal Bahadur Shastri. As Nehru’s daughter, she had the rare privilege of being constantly exposed to the outside world. At their...
New standards for Towed Guns
By: Mark Huntiller | Issue: EDR Vol. March/April 2012 | Date: 23 Oct , 2012
Many experts and talented observers predicted that towed guns would be completely replaced in coming decades by automotive-mounted arms, with truck-mounted pieces and howitzers seen as the...
Defending the Indian Skies
By: Air Marshal Raghu Rajan | Issue: Vol. 27.2 Apr-Jun 2012 | Date: 22 Oct , 2012
Air or Aerospace Defence provides a secure foundation for the safe and effective launch of aircraft and missiles to tackle an airborne or space-based intruder. Besides, the sharp end comprising...
Implications of China's Rise
By: Maj Gen Sheru Thapliyal, PhD | Issue: Vol 25.3 Jul-Sep 2010 | Date: 20 Oct , 2012
The English geographer Sir Halford Mackinder ended his famous 1904 article, “The Geographical Pivot of History,” with a disturbing reference to China. After explaining why Eurasia was the...
US Aerospace Industry and India
By: Air Marshal BK Pandey | Issue: Vol 26.1 Jan-Mar 2011 | Date: 16 Oct , 2012
Apart from the stated objective of propelling the strategic partnership between India and the US to a new level, perhaps the more important agenda for Barack Obama, President of the United...
The Helicopter as a Combat Platform
By: Gp Capt AK Sachdev | Issue: Vol. 27.2 Apr-Jun 2012 | Date: 13 Oct , 2012
Development of the pure helicopter remained painstakingly slow. The first closed circuit kilometre was flown by a helicopter only in 1924, more than 16 years after the first rotary wing flight....
Israel Aerospace and India
By: Gp Capt Joseph Noronha | Issue: Vol 26.1 Jan-Mar 2011 | Date: 13 Oct , 2012
IAI: Aiming High : What is remarkable about Israel is that despite its size and less-than-friendly neighbours—one of whom regularly threatens annihilation—it continues to survive. The country...
Army Aviation: A dream to realise
By: Air Vice Marshal AK Tiwary | Issue: Vol. 27.2 Apr-Jun 2012 | Date: 13 Oct , 2012
Helicopters have tremendous usage, both in times of peace as well as war. Also, they can be used across a wide spectrum of conflict from low-scale counter-insurgency operations to full-fledged...
American elections: No impact on ties with India
By: Kanwal Sibal | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 09 Oct , 2012
The upcoming presidential election in the United States lacks the excitement of the election four years ago when Barack Obama made history by being the first black person ever to occupy the White...
Military Aviation and National Growth
By: Air Marshal BK Pandey | Issue: Vol 20.2 Apr-Jun 2005 | Date: 04 Oct , 2012
Adam Smith, the renowned proponent of economic thought has said, “The first duty of a sovereign, that of protecting the society from violence and invasion of other independent societies, can be...
The Tibetan Factor
By: Claude Arpi | Issue: Vol 23.2 Apr-Jul 2008 | Date: 29 Sep , 2012
An important factor which has been ignored by most students of history of the 1962 India-China War, is the ‘Tibetan factor’. It greatly hampered the PLA in scoring a more decisive victory...
Maoists as political prisoners?
By: Prakash Nanda | Issue: Courtesy: Uday India | Date: 27 Sep , 2012
Two recent judicial pronouncements form West Bengal Courts have very dangerous implications for the country’s security and integrity. The first one was by the High Court and second was by a...
One Rank One Pension - a big joke on ex-servicemen?
By: Col RP Chaturvedi | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 25 Sep , 2012
As expected, the OROP story turned out to be a GOI joke. Not for the first time, has GOI spread canards, to slow down the Veteran momentum of demands, and package implementation of court orders...